A Break from Grief (closed for Badge)

Ashstar padded out of the leaders' den, paws lightly crunching on the frost-covered moor grass on her way to the apprentice den. Light flakes of snow drifted down from slowly brightening gray clouds. A sunrise ago, she had given herself an apprentice to train for mainly two reasons. First of all, she was worried about quiet Mottlepaw, and second of all, she needed something to draw her mind off of her grief and the disastrous and unnecessary battle with RiverClan. Sharing a border with those bloodthirsty warmongers didn't help her sleep at night- in fact, it made her more of an insomniac.

Shaking off the troubles she tried so hard to ignore, the gray-furred leader poked her snow-frosted head into the den, seeking out the mottled pelt of her apprentice. "Time for training, Mottlepaw," she murmured, nudging him gently. He looked so peaceful sleeping, just like her two small kits had used to. Blinking slightly in surprise at this unwarranted comparison- true though it was- the she-cat backed out if the den.

It had taken a long while for Mottlepaw to fall asleep - it was hard to forget the horrible aftermath of the RiverClan's attack on WindClan and it haunted him whenever he closed his eyes - even if he did his best to not show it. He awoke without a sound when Ashstar gently prodded him, pulling himself even tighter into a ball in a feeble attempt to show that he didn't wish to get up but his ears twitched at her words. His eyes flickered open as he heard the faint sound of her retreating from the apprentice den as he shook the tiredness that weighted him down and pushed himself to his paws. He yawned as he followed after his mentor, blinking at the harsh brightness of the snow reflecting the sunlight in his eyes before he focused his gaze onto his mentor, flickering an ear to show that he was ready to set off.

Ashstar offered her apprentice an encouraging smile as he made his way out of the apprentices' den. He looked like he'd had almost as bad of a sleep as she had. She felt a little guilty for waking the poor tom up, but training was training, after all. She nodded at his sign of readiness, but was a little worried that he hadn't said anything. Motioning him onwards with her fluffy gray tail, she cruched through the snow as they headed towards the camp's exit. "We'll be patrolling the ShadowClan border today, and then I'll teach you how to hunt," she meowed kindly to Mottlepaw. "Sound good?"

Mottlepaw faintly returned the smile but it was a small weak one. Whatever tiredness he had failed to shake off was gone with the cold air that rustled his thin pelt causing him to wish he had a fluffy one like his mentor but did his best not to show his discomfort in the cold air as he followed after her. His ears flickered as she discussed the plans of training, nodding in relief when she made no mention of going toward the RiverClan border - he had dreaded the idea of them going that way. Of course, he wasn't fond of the idea of going to the ShadowClan border in case they ran into anybody but it was much better then the RiverClan border. "Yes Ashstar," he meowed quietly in response to his mentor, feeling no more words were necessary then that. He did find himself excited at the idea of hunting - a way to help his Clan without having to interact with any of the other Clans.

Ashstar smiled at the mottled tom as they walked side by side through the cold, snowy moors. She noticed the tom shivering from the biting chill in the air and had a sudden, motherly impulse to draw the apprentice closer with her fluffy tail. She shook it off, however, knowing Mottlepaw might not take kindly to being treated like a kit, and by the leader nonetheless. As they drew closer to the border, a foul, putrid scent hit the WindClan leader's nose. However, she didn't cringe like most other cats did. Instead of reminding her of carrion, the smell of ShadowClan brought to mind snuggling warm in Graybriar's nest, playing with her brother Birchkit, and heckling her father and the other warriors. In fact, it had been a snowy, cloudy day like this when ThunderClan....

The gray she-cat shook out her pelt briskly, shoving that away. WindClan was her home, her family, now and forever. "Work hard to memorize that scent," she advised Mottlepaw, gazing into his dulled eyes. "What can you tell me about ShadowClan, Mottlepaw?" She sat on her haunches in the powdery white snow, paws freezing but eyes warm and kind. Her tail twitched with the desire to drape its gray fluffiness over the tom and lick the stray tuft of fur on her apprentice's head. She restrained herself, though.

Mottlepaw followed after Ashstar as he scanned the moor, happy to be out of the camp. He longed to see what the territory looked like not blanket in the perfect white snow but knew it would be a long time before he would get that wish - he would most likely be a warrior by the time that happened. His eyes blinked, the pure whiteness almost blinding as the sun reflected it and found himself relieved when a new scent hit him and drew his attention to the dark forest which was a wonderful break of the whiteness. 

Of course, his nose quickly scrunched up at the new scent when he took a moment to take it in, wondering what kind of cats could stand living in that scent and not the lovely scent of fresh air that WindClan loved so much. That question was answered quickly as Ashstar told him to memorize the scent and what he knew about ShadowClan. Of course, he should of known...But what did he know about ShadowClan? Most of his knowledge came from the stories that queens would tell their kits but could he trust those? None of those stories had said how horrible RiverClan truly was but he had seen it for himself.

His eyes scanned the border, relieved to see no sign of any ShadowClan cats before he paused to pull what facts he did know together. "Not much, Ashstar," he admitted quietly, trying to see what knowledge from those kit tales that seemed to fit what before him and the scent that wafted from the shadowy trees. "They live deep in the pines, lurking in the shadows and they eat crowfood and rats."